Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elbasan and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Elbasan: $882 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Elbasan
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Elbasan Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Elbasan

🇦🇱 Albania

$882

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Elbasan and in Athens

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Elbasan and in Athens actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $882 in Elbasan versus $1,775 in Athens.

Elbasan $882
Athens $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,391 in Elbasan versus $2,721 in Athens.

Elbasan $1,391
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,901 in Elbasan versus $3,666 in Athens.

Elbasan $1,901
Athens $3,666

Living in Elbasan costs roughly 50% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Elbasan is 35% below, Athens is 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.79 ALL 788

$16.69 €14.84

-41.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.36 ALL 2,928

$67.8 €60.3

-46.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.85 ALL 552

$11.14 €9.91

-38.51%

Cappuccino

$1.68 ALL 135

$4.03 €3.58

-58.31%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ALL 109

$2.77 €2.46

-51.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 ALL 50.8

$0.55 €0.49

14.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 ALL 174

$5.74 €5.10

-62.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 ALL 228

$5.45 €4.85

-48.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ALL 151

$1.82 €1.62

3.30%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 ALL 73.4

$1.38 €1.23

-34.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 ALL 131

$2.80 €2.49

-42.14%

Eggs

$2.70 ALL 218

$4.83 €4.30

-44.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.98 ALL 804

$15.05 €13.39

-33.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.87 ALL 473

$10.63 €9.45

-44.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.19 ALL 901

$18.43 €16.39

-39.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 ALL 96.3

$2.20 €1.96

-45.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 ALL 184

$1.90 €1.69

20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 ALL 109

$1.37 €1.22

-0.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 ALL 86.1

$2.10 €1.87

-49.05%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 ALL 79.0

$1.08 €0.96

-9.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ALL 87.5

$1.12 €1.00

-2.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.81 ALL 65.1

$1.12 €1.00

-27.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 ALL 52.1

$0.88 €0.79

-26.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ALL 353

$5.48 €4.88

-20.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.07 ALL 649

$10.13 €9.01

-20.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 ALL 82.0

$2.13 €1.89

-52.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ALL 149

$2.25 €2.00

-17.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ALL 38.46

$1.36 €1.21

-64.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.51 ALL 1,571

$29.89 €26.59

-34.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.77 ALL 303

$4.45 €3.96

-15.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 ALL 122

$1.02 €0.90

48.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.94 ALL 1,203

$16.92 €15.05

-11.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 ALL 173

$2.25 €2.00

-4.44%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.9K ALL 2.3M

$28.0K €24.9K

3.19%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$29.9K ALL 2.4M

$28.2K €25.1K

5.92%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$61.1 ALL 4,918

$205 €182

-70.15%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$15.20 ALL 1,224

$26.65 €23.71

-42.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.00 ALL 966

$30.38 €27.02

-60.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.6 ALL 4,558

$54.5 €48.47

3.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.22 ALL 1,386

$25.88 €23.02

-33.46%

Cinema Ticket

$4.33 ALL 349

$10.42 €9.27

-58.45%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$139 ALL 11.2K

$569 €506

-75.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,835 ALL 147.8K

$12.6K €11.2K

-85.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 ALL 5,804

$88.7 €78.9

-18.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.85 ALL 3,611

$40.46 €35.99

10.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.8 ALL 7,630

$105 €93.3

-9.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 ALL 7,754

$121 €108

-20.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$299 ALL 24.1K

$741 €659

-59.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$204 ALL 16.4K

$655 €582

-68.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$442 ALL 35.6K

$1,300 €1,156

-66.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 ALL 25.1K

$1,148 €1,021

-72.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,361 ALL 109.6K

$4,014 €3,570

-66.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$858 ALL 69.1K

$3,460 €3,078

-75.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$539 ALL 43.4K

$1,242 €1,105

-56.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.1

4.48

36.16%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Elbasan: October 13, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Elbasan

$210 23.8%

Athens

$310 17.5% 48.1% $101

Accommodation & Living

Elbasan

$204 23.1%

Athens

$655 36.9% 221% $451

Eating Out

Elbasan

$143 16.3%

Athens

$268 15.1% 87% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Elbasan

$139 15.7%

Athens

$160 9% 15.4% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elbasan

$88 10%

Athens

$262 14.7% 196% $173

Sport & Entertainment

Elbasan

$65 7.4%

Athens

$75 4.2% 15.4% $10

Getting Around

Elbasan

$33 3.7%

Athens

$45 2.5% 37.1% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $299 in Elbasan and $741 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 131% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $36.00 in Elbasan vs $68.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $310 per month, with Elbasan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Elbasan

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

06:08 6:08 AM

07:08 7:08 AM

1 h ahead of Elbasan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,703

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ALL in detail →

On the map

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Elbasan Athens 470 km

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Elbasan
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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Elbasan vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elbasan wins on cost – living expenses run 101% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Elbasan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 131% lower in Athens. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $299 in Elbasan versus $741 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Elbasan – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $882 per month in Elbasan versus $1,775 in Athens – a 101% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $882 in Elbasan versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Elbasan but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Elbasan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Elbasan delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $882 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Elbasan hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Elbasan and Athens are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Elbasan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.